Canucks still have Sharks
numberSharks offense sputters for 2nd consecutive
game

11/26/11 - By Mike Lee -

Don't let the statistics fool you. The Sharks did
not bombard Vancouver Canucks goaltender with bushels of shots, as the box
score might suggest. The line says that Schneider stopped 43 shots en route to
a 3-2 Canucks win over the Sharks on Saturday night, but the truth is,
Vancouver controlled the team's first meeting since last spring's Western
Conference Final series from start to finish. All Schneider needed to do was
park himself in front of his team's net, and his teammates really did the rest.

Vancouver used the same approach at shutting down the Sharks as they
did last May, when they knocked San Jose out of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Regardless of the sweeping roster changes the Sharks made, their plan of attack
was the same as the one they used to make an exit from the 2009-10 season.

Sharks head coach Todd McLellan seemed to approve of this team's
performance.

"There are some things that showed up in tonight's game
that we have worked on in the past couple of days and if we play that way, at
least for the last 50 minutes, we'll have enough success throughout the
season," said McLellan.

Perhaps Vancouver just has San Jose's number,
but it looked a lot like the same approach. Vancouver out-skated San Jose for
most of the evening, beating the slower Sharks to pucks repeatedly. A pair of
would be icing calls that the Canucks overturned by out-skating Sharks
defenders to the puck was indicative of the lop-sided play that the sellout HP
Pavilion crowd was forced to endure all night.

"With the team that we
have, we've been waiting for it to all come together," said Canucks forward
Daniel Sedin. "It was just a matter of time for us to start playing the way we
thought we could. It has been a team effort."

Vancouver controlled the
game from the get-go, putting plenty of rubber on Sharks netminder Antti Niemi.
It was Niemi's own defense that contributed to the game's first goal. The
Canucks grabbed a 1-0 lead 6 minutes into the game when a Manny Malhotra
centering feed hit defenseman Douglas Murray in the skate, deflecting past
Niemi. Murray was parked on the far post, guarding space when the puck
deflected off him.

San Jose drew even with 4 minutes left in the
period when Andrew Murray scored his first goal as a Shark. Murray was the
benefactor of a blind pass from Andrew Desjardins , who sent a backhand feed
from the right side. Murray had missed on a chance in tight, before circling
back toward the net to deposit Desjardins pass.

"You see the guys here
and they really get up for those games and they want to prove a point," said
the Sharks forward.

The 2nd period has typically served as the Sharks
bread and butter scoring period, but the Canucks turned the tables on them,
putting a pair of goal past Niemi. Joe Thornton opened the door on the first
goal by hacking Ryan Kessler with a slash that earned himself a two minute
respite in the penalty box.

Henrik Sedin deposited a rebound on the
ensuing power play midway through the period from the bottom of the left
circle. It was the only power play the Canucks would see, and they made good
use of it. The shark son the other hand, were shutout with the man-advantage on
three chances.

Andrew Alberts scored his 1st goal of the season less
than a minute later, firing a shot from the left point that seemed to deflect
over Niemi's left shoulder.

The Sharks didn't change their game plan entering the
3rd period, which didn't seem to help their plight. The Canucks simply sat back
and let the cock do the rest. A hooking penalty to Sedin at the 9:07 mark setup
a chance for the Sharks to get back into the game, but the lack of much
cohesion made things easier for Schneider.

McLellan pulled Niemi with
95 seconds left in regulation, which was the spark the Sharks offense finally
needed to engage.

Patrick Marleau cut the Canucks lead to a lone goal
with his 10th goal of the season at 18:45. Marleau chipped a Thornton feed past
Schneider after cutting toward the net from outside the right post.

The goal was too little, too late, as the Sharks couldn't sustain control of
the puck in the Vancouver zone.

"I saw a lot of the shots and it
definitely helped the power play", added Schneider. "Their power play unit is
so good that you have to have a team effort. It got a little bit hairy at the
end, but it was a good effort."

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